Chapter 302 - Not As Far Out Of Reach As She Seems
[You have received the Soul Power of First Order Infernal Scaled Lizard level 49. You have received Strength +15, Magic +10, Mana +6]
"Phew..." Bai Zemin relaxed and let out an exaggerated sigh as if he had just faced the most terrifying beast in the universe.
"You are exaggerated. You were clearly playing with that little monster." Lilith appeared at his side and joked.
"What part of this looks small to you?" Bai Zemin looked at her dumbfounded and pointed out, "This monster is over thirty meters tall and its body length is practically comparable to that First Order snake I killed earlier if we add the tail I cut off before the fight started."
Lilith looked at him with a teasing smile and said playfully, "Size is important, no doubt about it... But more important is knowing how to use it~"
Bai Zemin looked at her in blank stare for several seconds before commenting dumbfoundedly, "Lilith... Have I ever told you that you're a shameless pervert?"
"Oh, you have many times sweetie~" Lilith smiled cutely and then said in a tender voice, "But you don't need to praise me so much~ Just tell me what you want, and maybe you'll get it tonight~"
Cough! Cough!
Several fierce coughs broke the slight silence that had been born in the surroundings after Bai Zemin had killed the First Order Infernal Scaled Lizard.
"I really can't win against your shamelessness, woman." He sighed after calming down. When he heard the tender little voice Lilith spoke with, Bai Zemin had felt his legs weaken as if the strength magically escaped out of his body.
"Hehe~" Lilith smiled again. She looked like a little girl who had just been praised by her parents as she looked really happy with Bai Zemin's 'praise' towards her.
Seeing her like this, Bai Zemin shook his head and sat on the giant monster's back. Then, he looked at his hands for several seconds before calmly commenting, "But this statistic Health really is something... Look, my scorched skin and burnt flesh started to fall off while the tissues are moving at such a high speed that I can see it with my naked eyes."
Lilith put a bit of strength into the tip of her foot and with an elegant leap brimming with grace, she elevated dozens of meters in a second before landing softly on the lifeless beast's back. She leaned forward slightly and observed the burn on Bai Zemin's hands with a serious expression.
With the dim moonlight shining behind her, Lilith truly looked like a goddess of benevolence; this was so even with the sky completely filled with dark clouds so one could imagine how beautiful she would look with the moon and stars in the background.
Bai Zemin lost himself for a few seconds looking at her charming face. No matter what part of her very existence he looked at, he had to admit that he would probably never be bored; from the definition of her fragile jaw to the tip of her small forehead, everything was simply perfect beyond all possible description.
"Although your Health stat is monstrously high considering your current level, you'd better be more careful in the future."
Lilith's voice brought Bai Zemin out of his inner thoughts in a second. He quickly looked at his own hands and acted calmly as he said, "Oh? Why is that so?"
Lilith didn't seem to notice that he was looking at her with unfocused eyes as she continued, "From a certain level within the Second Order, some beasts will begin to control their own vicious mana well, while humans will also gain more knowledge about the mana inside their bodies. As a consequence, battles will become a lot more dangerous as the enemies' mana will start trying to corrode you from the inside out... Do you know what this means?"
Bai Zemin's expression froze upon hearing this. He suddenly no longer felt like worrying about the beautiful woman in front of him.
With a deep frown, he said in a serious voice, "The affected body and soul will have to work overtime not only to heal the wounds suffered but also to calm or eliminate the enemy mana attacking from the inside."
"Yup." Lilith nodded calmly before turning her back to him and looking up at the dark sky above her head. "But, you don't have to worry about it for now."
"... What do you mean?" Bai Zemin asked as he looked at her back.
It looked so fragile. So small. So weak.
Who knew that in reality, the woman he was looking at right now actually possessed one of the most dreadful strengths in the current universe.
However, as he looked at her small back, Bai Zemin didn't know why he suddenly got the feeling that Lilith may not be as strong as she pretended to be nor as out of everyone's reach as he egotistically assumed.
As he stared at her jet black dress swinging gently in the swaying of the cool night breeze, while occasionally catching a small glimpse of her legs that seemed as perfect as crystal ivory, Bai Zemin felt that the woman in front of his eyes probably carries a burden no less than the one he was carrying right now... It may even be even heavier and harsher.
Lilith naturally neither knew nor had the slightest notion about Bai Zemin's thoughts. Her gaze was lost beyond the high clouds in the sky and she said in her always calm and demure voice: "What I mean is, since the Earth is advancing considerably fast and so are its inhabitants, it is likely that the Second Order will not be enough for the beasts and humans to learn to control the mana to use it as a form of indirect attack. While there could be exceptions to this rule, I believe that most will only be able to start doing such a thing from the Third Order onward."
Bai Zemin nodded without saying anything more about it.
Since that was the case, then there was really nothing to worry about. He hadn't even advanced to level 50 to realize his mission to advance to Second Order so there was no need to think about such distant matters as the Third Order. Still, it was good to know in advance the problems he might face at any moment.
Besides, he suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable about that strange feeling that suddenly appeared all over him so he didn't feel particularly eager to talk about such matters either.
"Mm?"
Perhaps realizing that something was wrong with the atmosphere, or maybe worried about the lack of an answer, Lilith slowly turned around and looked at him before asking in confusion, "Everything okay?"
Bai Zemin looked at her and his two dark eyes met her bright red eyes. He hesitated for a moment but finally said firmly, "Lilith... Even though I don't know what's so important that you need my help.... Considering how powerful you are, it definitely shouldn't be easy if even you can't accomplish it. But I promise that I will do everything I can to help you grant your wish."
Lilith looked surprised for a moment, and she simply stared at him with a dazed and surprised expression. It was only after a great breeze of wind hit the forest that she finally seemed to wake up and smiled bitterly as she muttered words that even being so close to her, Bai Zemin could not hear.
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"I guess that's enough for now." Bai Zemin stood up and played with his hands for a moment as he checked the inner condition of his body.
The slight internal injuries he had suffered after enduring a heavy amount of weight when he activated Gravity Manipulation x15 by falling from a great height had already healed almost completely after half an hour while the wounds on his hands took a little less time to heal completely; only 20 minutes or so.
After making sure that there would be no problem fighting a tough battle to the death in case he ran into trouble, Bai Zemin jumped off the beast's body and searched for a Soul Stone nearby.
The large monster's head had exploded into a bloody mess with flesh and bone fragments flying uncontrollably all over the place after being smashed by Bai Zemin's heavy fist. At that moment the beast had lost the natural mana protection surrounding its body as it was too exhausted after attacking with its magic skill constantly without rest, so, despite its defenses, it could not take even a single fist from him.
It was a bit challenging to search for a Soul Stone in the midst of such a huge mess of blood and flesh as they were too small objects in comparison; because the beast's head alone was roughly the size of an average house, one could imagine how disastrous the scene was after such a thing completely exploded.
Unfortunately, this time he was not as lucky as when he killed the blue-scaled snake since the Infernal Scaled Lizard had not formed a Soul Stone inside it. However, this did not mean that he was empty-handed as he received a red orb.
Although Bai Zemin was not interested in normal treasures, he decided to keep it and check the contents of the orb later. It probably meant that the treasure inside was destined for some soul evolver with certain merits.
Bai Zemin lifted the giant beast's body after activating Gravity Manipulation again. But even then it was not an easy task to lift the monstrous weight of the Infernal Scaled Lizard as it easily weighed at least ten times more than the blue-scaled snake.
When Bai Zemin arrived at the western gate of the base he was greeted by a large team of armed men along with several cargo vehicles and a group of 20 survivors with sturdy bodies and some of them experienced in controlling machinery.
Regardless of whether it was the gunmen or the survivors, they all gasped at the sight of the massive body of the beast in front of them. Unconsciously, they looked at Bai Zemin's body right next to the headless monster and could not help but compare the sizes between the two beings.
How could one person lift such a gigantic thing?! Everyone had the same doubt. That monster definitely weighed at least five times more than a war tank!
Of course, if it weren't for the fact that he had reduced the gravity around him and the monster, he definitely wouldn't have been able to lift it. Even with his monstrously high Strength, Bai Zemin had not reached that level yet.
"Leader..." A middle-aged man approached Bai Zemin with a respectful expression and eyes glittering with veneration.
After exchanging a few words, the middle-aged man said a bit worriedly, "I'm afraid the crane won't be able to lift the weight of this beast... Besides, even though the trucks were properly modified following Miss Shangguan's orders and instructions, I'm afraid it might collapse as well..."
While the wheels of the vehicles had been changed to hard and tough mutated beast bones that were strong enough to support the weight of a monster on the level of the blue-scaled snake, the First Order Infernal Scaled Lizard was on a completely different level.
Bai Zemin frowned slightly when he heard this. He definitely hadn't taken that problem into account before as he believed that trucks and cargo tractors would be enough.
Even worse, he hadn't expected that even the crane wouldn't have the strength to lift the weight. While several parts were replaced with mutated beast tendons, which strengthened the machine's grip and endurance, something still needed to be done about the tongs.
Because there was a lot of work to be done as Bai Zemin wanted to move the entire camp to his real base as quickly as possible, many things had to be temporarily put aside to focus on what was most important.
This was one of the clear consequences of rushing things too much, as while you may get what you wanted earlier, many things will get lost along the way that could end up giving you a severe headache in the long run.
Just as Bai Zemin was about to decide to leave the body there and then move it himself later when he returned from the forest for the last time, a silhouette appeared in his range of vision.
This silhouette was thin and smaller than him in comparison. However, the charming and seductive curves of its body made it clear that it was a woman.
Dressed in deep blue armor with a beautiful light blue sword at her waist, Shangguan Bing Xue approached with her characteristic cold and indifferent expression that seemed to suggest everyone stay as far away from her as possible.
Even though she was just walking, her speed was fast enough to close a few meters with each step she took and from the point of view of the survivors and militants who were just normal humans, it was as if she were teleporting short distances.
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